006 [Video]

[thechoiceisyours]

So uh... Hey everyone. Again.

[He could probably get a better opening line, but whatever. Moving on.]

I know like, a bunch of people just arrived so... Welcome, I guess. We're still working on the newbie's guide to waking up in a cave-city run by gods, but until then like, if you have any questions I can try and help? Also uh, it's probably safe at this point and we're just being paranoid, but you may want to avoid eating any meat products you find here. For reasons.

[MOVING ON.]

Also uh, sort of related, but I was thinking that maybe before next month we should really... Plan some way to help out? I mean, people just sort of show up and half the time there's monsters too, and... Maybe some sort of organized thing for helping the new people not get like, eaten or whatever would be a good idea.

[This is not exactly his area of expertise, so if other people want to take charge on this he's more than happy to let them, but otherwise he'll try and figure something out. It really seems like something important to get established.]

In uh, a rare moment of good news though, the whole coffee thing worked out. So if you want coffee there's some at Delight's bar now, though you'll have to like... Be kind of patient with me and the others being possibly terrible baristas. Still kind of getting the hang of the whole thing.

[But surely coffee itself is well worth any less-than-practiced customer service; they're at least pretty good at making coffee, including somewhat elaborate drinks, and as far as Chris is aware they're all trying. That's what counts, right?

Right?]

I think that's about it, except for that like... If anyone's curious, the handheld games from the arena this month are just normal games. I thought maybe they'd be some sort of weird alien-versions of them, but I guess not; I took one apart and it was all the expected stuff inside it.

That said I'm totally betting I can beat anyone's high scores.

Comments

[torrefied]

[So the gods have only been bringing people here for eight months at most, if what he says is correct. That's interesting.]

And do you know if the gods created everything here especially for all of us? The structures here look like they predate the people who've been brought here.

[thechoiceisyours]

[He shakes his head, though Mello can't see it.]

Not for us, no. There were uh... Some sort of other people or something here, and they got wiped out somehow before we started arriving. I dunno if they made the things here or the gods did, but that's what it's all... Weird.

[torrefied]

[That's even more interesting. If there was some sort of disaster that befell the city's population, there's always a possibility that the same thing could happen again, to them.]

Any clues about what it was that wiped everyone out?

[thechoiceisyours]

Not really. I asked Hope, but he was uh... Vague.

[To put it nicely.]

[torrefied]

The god Hope? He speaks to you?

[thechoiceisyours]

Yeah; I've talked to all the gods except for Rage. They post on the network sometimes, but you can also just call them directly.

[torrefied]

[That's extremely interesting.]

That's awfully magnanimous of them. Gods are typically known to only speak to a select few. Is there a particular reason you haven't spoken with Rage?

[thechoiceisyours]

Yeah, so I've heard.

[But of course he's not sure if he believes much in any other gods than the ones here. That's a different issue, though.]

Rage and I just haven't had anything important to say to each other, I guess. I was gonna ask her something at one point but got the question answered from someone else, so I didn't have to after all.

[torrefied]

So you're not avoiding her because she's unpleasant? With a name like Rage, I'd wonder.

[thechoiceisyours]

Well, I mean, I definitely like talking to Delight best, but no. It's not specifically because of that.

The gods are usually pretty chill to talk to, even if some of them can be kind of... Also awful.

[torrefied]

Which ones are awful?

[He can guess, but confirmation is obviously better.]

[thechoiceisyours]

Rage and Fear um... Well, obviously they want us to feel rage and fear, so what they do tends to be pretty terrible.

[torrefied]

Yeah, I heard something about that. They feed off our emotions.

[Which is kind of sick, but also refreshingly straightforward, in a way.]

Gods always want something. Devotion. Sacrifice. Typically they make demands of believers, though, not an entire population.

[Typically. Not always, though.]

[thechoiceisyours]

Yeah, well. I get the feeling these gods are kind of... Desperate, sort of?

[Enough so to do things to specifically generate certain emotions, instead of being able to rely on what the people here would feel just naturally in the situation.]

But um, I think they save like, the normal sacrifices and whatever for special stuff. They make deals sometimes, and I know Rage asks for sacrifices in exchange for stuff, so... Not too far off the 'normal', I guess.

[torrefied]

[The comment about the gods being desperate draws out a dark chuckle from Mello. Desperation does lead to what most people consider unthinkable. This kid seems to have more than half a brain - color Mello somewhat impressed.]

What kinds of deals do they make?

[thechoiceisyours]

[Chris definitely has a brain, but he does prefer not to have to use it as much as he has been the last... What, six months? Ugh. He misses being able to act like an idiot.]

Um, I only know about a few examples; Hope was going to trade a friend of mine cosmetics if she could inspire enough feelings of hope or something, Rage trades dead monsters for bullets, and Delight gave us coffee in exchange for us just serving it and making people happy.

[torrefied]

That's good to know.

[Especially the part about Rage and bullets. Mello has limited ammunition for his pistol with him, and there were no bullets to be found in any of the shops he inspected on the first day. There are always other weapons to use, but knowing there's a possibility of replenishment available is extremely helpful.]

Those all seem like fairly mundane things, though. Has anyone tried to bargain for something a little more out of the ordinary?

[thechoiceisyours]

I don't know for sure. I think Hope gave some people like, a healing power for doing something for him, but I didn't get many details on that and I don't know if it was temporary or what.

[He'd found out in the middle of the wendigo mess, and had been more than a little distracted.]

[torrefied]

[That's also interesting, though not immediately relevant. Mello hums a quiet noise of interest and tucks that piece of information away in his mind, along with the rest of what Chris has told him.]

You've been very helpful. Is there anything else you're planning to put in this newcomer's guide about this place that I should know?

[thechoiceisyours]

[He hesitates a moment.]

Um, if no one's told you yet, you should uh... Be aware that people don't stay dead here.

[That's pretty important.]

[torrefied]

[There's a short measure of silence on Mello's end, filled first with the soft rustling of paper and a quiet snap of a bite of chocolate being broken off the bar, then a few more moments of pause.]

No, I hadn't heard that yet. Can you elaborate?

[thechoiceisyours]

Yeah. Basically uh, Hope bring people back to life when they die here, though it takes a few days. I don't think there's like, any side effects to it that we know of so far.

[But it seems too good to be true, so he's not totally sure on that.]

[torrefied]

Have you seen this for yourself, or is it just speculation?

[thechoiceisyours]

I know people who've died here, if that's what you mean.

[Somehow he's managed to avoid it himself, though he's pretty sure his luck won't last forever.]

[torrefied]

And they've just been brought back, good as new? There's no payment exacted from Hope in exchange for this?